After posting on Instagram about his search for a Nexo Dallas Open doubles partner, Ben Shelton said he received "100s of DMs" from potential teammates. After an opening win Monday, it seems he made the right choice in pairing with countryman Aleksandar Kovacevic for his first competitive action since his Australian Open singles quarter-final run.
On centre court, the American duo earned a 5-7, 7-6(3), 10-3 win against Bulgarians Grigor Dimitrov and Georgi Georgiev, the latter a current college player at nearby Southern Methodist University.
Despite missing out on both of their break chances in the match, according to Infosys ATP Stats, Kovacevic and Shelton rose to the occasion in the two tie-breaks to advance. They won the second-set tie-break by claiming its first point against serve at 6/5, then raced to an 8/0 lead in the Match Tie-break. The Americans fired 18 aces in the match, including one from Kovacevic on match point, and won 88 per cent (49/46) of their first-serve points.
Kovacevic and Shelton await either third-seeded Frenchmen Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul or American qualifier Tyler Hilderbrand and Mac Kiger in the quarter-finals.
In the only other doubles match played so far this week in Dallas, Evan King and John Peers saved two match points to upset fourth-seeded Americans Robert Cash and James Tracy 7-6(1), 3-6, 11-9.
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